G20

This is the second report by Steve Price-Thomas from the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. Read the first report here.

St. Petersburg, Russia -- It was all smiles as presidents Putin and Obama met on the steps of the Constantine Palace, venue of the G20 Summit. But smiles aren't enough: leaders attending the G20 summit must seize this opportunity to make real progress on helping find a political solution to the Syria crisis.

When G20 leaders meet in St Petersburg on September 5-6, they need to be sure not to forget that half the world's poorest people live in G20 countries, and that income gaps are dangerously on the rise across most of them.

The G20 brings together the world's major advanced and emerging economies, represents 90 per cent of global GDP, 80 per cent of global trade and two-thirds of the world's population. It's a powerful group, and its efforts to boost growth and fix the global financial architecture are important and needed.

Finding a way to end legal tax evasion was the theme announced for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bankers Meeting in Moscow over the weekend, in preparation for the G20 Moscow Summit this coming September.

Don't

When more than 200 bystanders, pedestrians and cyclists were first surrounded by a cordon of police officers on a stretch of downtown Toronto June 27, 2010, during the G20 summit, they didn't realize they would become a part of political strategy that has its roots dating back two and a half millennia.

Police kettling can be traced back to the military tactic of encirclement, according to Scott Sørli, who researched the idea and has collected hundreds photographs of police kettling from around the world.

Sørli -- who teaches architecture in Toronto and completed a Masters of Design Research at the University of Michigan in 2012 -- says kettling is the child of the military strategy of encirclement.

The trial of Toronto Police Constable Andalib-Goortani began last week and the Crown has rested its case. The defence has now begun.

Constable Babek Andalib-Goortani -- who was among the more than 90 officers caught not wearing their mandatory police identification at the time -- was charged on December 23, 2010, with assault with a weapon against Adam Nobody. Constable Andalib-Goortani has pleaded not guilty.

On Friday May 31, 2013, Ontario Superior Court Justice M. Gregory Ellies found Toronto Police Constable Glenn Weddell not guilty of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in regards to the alleged beating of Dorian Barton.

On Friday May 31, 2013, Ontario Superior Court Justice M. Gregory Ellies found Toronto Police Constable Glenn Weddell not guilty of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in regards to the alleged beating of Dorian Barton. The trail was by judge alone.

The alleged assault took place three years ago during the G20 Summit protest in Toronto back in June 2010; which resulted in the arrest of over 1,000 people and was the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.

Weddell was the first police officer to face trial stemming from public complaints of excessive force and assault towards individuals who were at Queen’s Park on Saturday June 26, 2010, for the G20 Summit demonstrations.

Weddell – the first police officer to face trial stemming from activist complaints of excessive force and assault – has been charged with assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm when he arrested activist Dorian Barton.

Barton takes the stand for the first time today and is being represented by the law firm Ruby & Shiller.

The suit revolves around Constable Weddell allegedly beating Barton on June 26, 2010, as he was arrested while demonstrating against the G20 Summit at Queen's Park.